


S-H-I-H-O!

by MagicMaddie



Series: Persona 5 One-Offs [2]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: F/F, Persona 5: The Royal Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:40:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25659868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagicMaddie/pseuds/MagicMaddie
Summary: In a universe where Shiho Suzui moves to the quiet, not-so-foggy town of Inaba, her first volleyball game since the move is underway. To her, it is the chance to prove her worth to everyone...and herself. Ann wouldn't be there, but she hoped the results would make her wonderful oldest friend happy and proud.As if by wishful thinking, at the bottom of the gymnasium's bleachers, there stands Ann Takamaki and four others, dressed in red and white Shujin cheerleading dresses.Knowing where this is going, even the school's actual cheerleading team steps aside...
Relationships: Suzui Shiho/Takamaki Ann
Series: Persona 5 One-Offs [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1637260
Comments: 5
Kudos: 29





	S-H-I-H-O!

**Author's Note:**

> While not at all a crossover, the idea of putting Persona 5's ladies in Persona 4's hometown was funny to me. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this sweet one-off!

Her heart palpitating with anxiety, Shiho Suzui rose steadily from the locker room bench. Just jogging and waving for an entrance, standing for “Kimigayo,” and maybe a few sponsors and announcements were all that stood between her and the game.

Complete exhaustion was certain in the aftermath of her first volleyball game since moving; Shiho hoped a nice bath and an unusually long nap would soothe her.

That was the future, however. Now, it was time for Shiho to prove her worth - to everyone _and_ herself. 

_And Ann_. The young volleyball player anticipated, back in the big city of Tokyo, that Ann was doing as great as ever. Even if Shiho lost today, then perchance, a long talk on the phone with her best friend would lift her spirits. Be it modeling or sports, Shiho knew all too well how hard it is to get into the greats of a certain craft.

Looking at herself in the full-length mirror, Shiho’s pink lips kept flatlined and neutral. Oh, sure, the black and gray shorts fit her well. The yellow tee was a bit tighter than a typical top in Shiho’s size, revealing just a sliver of midriff. Though too late now, she could talk with Coach Kondo after the game. 

The whole locker - vacant save for Shiho - echoed with the creaking of the large wooden doors nearby.

“Suzui!” Kondo hollered from beyond the door. “Let’s go!”  
  


Shiho looked back on her crystal-clear reflection, and the left side of her lips curved up, forming the whole into a warm half-smile.

“Yes, Sir!” Suzui heartily cried back. 

In the next instant, she made her quick pace out of the locker room.

***

The announcer’s bellowing voice echoed from the speakers, “ _Annnnd_ introducing - middle blocker number _nineteen_ \- Minako Aino!” 

Aino-san’s blonde ponytail swished side-to-side, as Shiho’s preceding teammate waved to the crowd. 

As soon as Minako took her position, Shiho closed her eyes, tapping her feet on the floor in anticipation.

_I hope I can make you proud, Ann_. 

Wherever Ann Takamaki was, Shiho would hope that a follow-up call wouldn’t be too late or too early. Perhaps, Shiho could boast to her best friend about this potential victory, and - 

“Here she comes!” a melodic, soprano voice murmured amongst the crowd. “Ann-chan, she - “

Shiho’s eyes shot open, wide from shock. Then again, she thought to herself, just because “Ann” and other foreign names are uncommon in Japan, didn’t mean _she_ would be here.

Shiho bent forward onto her knees, careful of the brace covering the middle of her right leg. 

_I’ll still make her proud._

“And, last but not least,” the announcer revved forward, “it’s our _new_ team captain! Ladies and gentlemen, number ninety-six... _Shiho Suzui_!”

Smile plastered on her face, and waving hands pulled high into the air, Shiho made her dash to her starting position.

But the increased volume of the crowd - and even the cheerleaders of both sides - didn’t feel _quite_ right.

Shiho looked to the left branch of bleachers. The crowds clapped calmly, as did the Iwatodai cheerleaders nod with their pom-poms behind their backs. 

Shiho looked to the home branch of bleachers. The crowds were more rowdy, as were the cheerleaders...and - 

In a flash, five more girls - garbed in red and white cheerleading minidresses - jumped from the lowest bleachers, forcing the actual Inaba cheerleaders to shame. Their whoops and hollers and “Go Suzui”’s were cacophonic, but heartfelt. 

As Shiho skittered to a halt, her eyes and head couldn’t look away from the silly oddballs of the gymnasium. 

But what really almost brought her heart to a stop was the sight of a familiar, tall blonde in the middle of the quintet. Her hair was pulled apart in those trademark twintails, and her smile was as pearly and white as the moon on a clear, starry night.

_Ann…?!_

* * *

_Yes!_ Ann Takamaki exclaimed in her head, much quieter than her verbal rallying for sure. _She sees us!_

A harsh cough had her head dart back to Futaba Sakura, just right next to her. The orange-haired girl collapsed back onto her seat, panting in desperation for a fuller, more sustainable breath.

“Futaba-chan!” Ann whined, her hands and pom-poms on her hips in a pout. “You’ve got to at least keep yourself on your feet!”

“I’m on my feet _and_ my butt!” Futaba sheepishly grinned, planting the former on the ground perfectly.

“O-o-only the feet, okay?!” a frantic Makoto Niijima, standing on Ann’s other side, insisted. “Get back up, Futaba-chan!”

With another huff and the frenzied shaking of her head, Futaba propped herself up and forward. 

As Futaba resumed her position to Ann’s left, Sumire Yoshizawa, standing on Futaba’s own left, swept her feet forward and back. 

“Okay, then,” Sumire hollered to the right. “Let’s get started!”

Ignoring the perplexed Inaba-native cheerleaders, Ann, Futaba, Makoto, Sumire, and Haru Okumura at the farthest left point, began clapping their hands - and, therefore, pom-poms - together. 

_One, two, three_!

In the next instant, the slightly off-sync choreography kicked off.

_Stronger than steel,_

_Hotter than the sun!_

_Suzui won’t stop_

_‘Till she gets the job done!_

“ _Gooooo_ Shiho!” Ann screeched, jumping out of the choreography and waving her pom-poms in the air. 

“Go, Suzui-san!” Haru yelped.

“Alright!” Makoto hollered.

“Now for the rest of the team,” Sumire sharply prompted. “We can’t just leave Suzui-san’s teammates out of this!”

The other four nodded, their agreement calm in contrast to their whoops and hollers.

“Alright,” the redhead beamed. “Next up is Aino-san! One, two, three!”

_Stronger than steel..._

* * *

Shiho Suzui felt like she could run up to Ann and pull her into a tight hug. 

How she managed to drag four other girls - possibly new friends of Ann’s since she left - from Tokyo to Inaba was beyond the volleyball setter. _Why_ she did so perplexed her further.

Even so, she would have to shove her questions into the future. 

For now, she had to prove better than _ever_ that she was stronger than before. Nothing and nobody - not general peer pressure, nor the crude, long-gone Kamoshida - would stop her now.

_Still_ , she pondered, _how did Ann get here?_

* * *

The score read four to two, with the leading score in favor of Shiho and Inaba’s high school; Ann forgot the name of this rather large small-town school. 

“Excuse me?” an Inaba-native cheerleader, clad in black and yellow, sheepishly inquired to Sumire. “What’s going on here?”

As Ann’s head darted away, cheeks flushing red with haste, Sumire covered for the quintet.

“Hello!” she beamed, nudging past Futaba and over at Ann. “We’re rooting for her oldest and best friend _and_ your school’s team!”

“Just her ‘best friend,’ huh?”

Heeding the lack of any answer, the nameless cheerleader nodded. Yet just before she turned around, a sinister smirk crossed her lips.

She pivoted toward her own cheerleading team...and motioned for them to sit on the bleachers.

“Wait, pardon us?!” Haru cried out, only for the leading lady to nod back at them. 

Without further question, the Inaba cheerleaders were perched on the bleachers, their legs crossed as they looked eagerly between the Shujin quintet and the actual game.

“Oh!” Haru beamed awkwardly. “E-Erm...okay! Thanks!”

Ann blinked in surprise. 

“Wait!” Makoto stammered. “How are _we_ supposed to fill their shoes for the whole game?!”

In contrast, a spark of excitement warmed Ann’s own heart. Even the score pushed Shiho Suzui and the Inaba team further to victory.

She jumped forward, her right fist and pom-pom launching into the air.

_Let’s get physical!_

She paused, looking left at her kohais Futaba and Sumire, then right at her senpais Haru and Makoto.

“Like we practiced?!” Ann sheepishly cried, barely above a whisper.

A moment of silence ushered in the other four following Ann’s lead, and the next asynchronous dance commenced.

_Let’s get physical!_

_Get down, get hard, get mean!_ _  
_ _Let’s get physical_

_And beat the other team!_

* * *

Iwatodai’s volleyball team was good, for certain. Even if Inaba kept ahead by at least one or two points, the maximum distance was always about three points apart. Getting to twenty-five points for the first set would prove to be far from a breeze.

Suzui was aware of the score being ten against seven now. She lost the count once she spiked the ball, converting all her energy into a strong spike.

Although the spike was caught by the Iwatodai setter, a pretty girl of red hair just a tinge lighter than that of one of Ann’s cheerleading friends, Suzui’s blood continued to boil, and her eyes were kept directly on the ivory-white ball.

_For Ann. For Makoto Niijima, she finally placed on the brunette girl beside Ann. For...whoever the other three were_.

Shiho almost remembered the redhead as an athlete from somewhere. However, she lost it as the ball was spiked onto the ground on her side of the court. Ten to eight was the score. 

_For Ann_ . _For Makoto._

_For...Yoshizawa? Probably?_

_For the pretty girl of fluffy ginger hair._

_For the cute girl with the violet eyes. They were violet, right?_

_But now, FOR ANN!_

Dedications aside, Shiho put her head back in the game.

* * *

The set was finished. Inaba took the first point.

The two teams rushed to their respective sides of the gymnasium for quick water breaks.

As Shiho lifted the water bottle to her lips, letting the liquid soothe her throat, she eyes Ann jogging up to her. Her hands were clapping the pom-poms together. 

“Yay, Shiho!” she beamed. 

And goodness, her smile was big. The red and white cheerleading dress - “SHUJIN” blazed across the chest - fit her and her friends well, too. 

Just a step away from Shiho, Ann gingerly wrapped her arms around Shiho’s waist.

“You did _great_ out there!” Ann exclaimed, her head resting on Shiho’s shoulder. “How many sets left?”

“It...depends,” Shiho blushed, placing her free hand on Ann’s back. “We need at least two more sets, but I don’t know how we’ll do next time. Iwatodai is...pretty good.”  
  


Ann parted from Shiho, though her hands (and, yes, pom-poms, too) remained on the latter’s shoulders. Takamaki’s smile was affable and sterling - but when was it not?

“You’re even better, Shiho,” she murmured. “We’ll be here to root for you, but it’s all on you, okay?”

The red flush of Shiho’s cheeks darkened, engendering a giggle from Ann.

“Oh, come on!” the blonde beamed. “You’ll do great! Seriously!”

Shiho’s grin matched Ann’s, and the two glanced back at the other four girls.

“Oh yeah!” Ann jumped. “I should introduce you to everyone. C’mon, Shiho!”

* * *

“Suzui-san is gracious!” Sumire breathlessly awed.

“Heh,” Takamaki sheepishly snickered. “Yeah, and she still had the audacity to say my painting in art class sucked.”

Futaba bellowed with laughter, pointing teasingly at Ann.

“Ooh, I can still see that,” she nudged at the blonde, though it incited more of a sneaky grin than a shocked glare. Futaba backed off a slight step, hoping she didn’t stir a hornet’s nest from within Ann.

“Pardon me!” Haru murmured to her companions. “Erm, the ‘actual’ cheerleaders are still seated.”

The five slowly turned to the other five or seven ladies on the low set of bleachers. The taller blue-haired girl on the closest end waved eagerly to them.

The Shujin girls looked back at one another.

“I suppose they just,” Makoto shrugged, adding after a hesitant pause, “want us to take over. After all, their leader knows Ann’s friends with Suzui-san.”

The five of them nodded to one another, and Sumire leapt gracefully to her feet. Realizing their latest chance was fast approaching, Ann followed suit.

“Then let’s not disappoint!” Sumire chimed in. “I don’t wish for Ann-chan to have wasted the train costs.”  
  


“One way or another,” Ann puzzlingly responded, “we’d make _sure_ it wouldn’t be a waste! Let’s go!”

Futaba, Haru, and Makoto rose promptly. 

All five shuffled in a perfectly aligning line, pom-poms held behind their backs.

“What will this next one be?” Haru inquired.

“How about the one that spells out ‘Shiho’?” Ann cried, almost jumping at the thought of another cheer exclusive to her beloved.

“I, um,” Futaba loudly stammered, “didn’t memorize everything! I only remember the end part...ehe.”

“Okay,” Ann murmured, “um...what do we do, then?”  
  


Sumire’s beautiful face turned upward with revelation. “ _Ann_ should spell it out, and everyone joins in after!”

As Ann allowed herself to bounce with delight and approval, her surroundings confidants nodded with adoring smiles. They brought their pom-poms around to the front.

Ann jogged in place, pumping her left fist into the air.

_S is for super,_

_H is for hot!_

_I is for incredible, ‘cause she’s got a great shot!_

_H is also for headstrong,_

_O is for outstanding -_

As Ann lowered her fist, the other four jumped forward, clapping their pom-poms together. They turned around to the home bleachers.

_\- So cheer, all you Inaba fans!_

_It’s power that your team has got!_

* * *

“Okay, good spike…” Haru murmured, just loud enough for Ann to perk up on.

“Iwatodai is returning it…” Makoto warned.

  
The quintet had collapsed on the bleachers a while ago, exhausted. Even Sumire had emptied a multitude of plastic water bottles from the concessions stand.

As if by their exhaustion, the team was struggling in this second set. Granted, Inaba wasn’t behind by a lot. Yet it was a glaring issue that Iwatodai had the lead by four points. 

An aggressive spike from the Iwatodai’s setter. The lead set the distance to five points. 

“C’mon, Shiho…” Ann seethed, gritting her teeth and tapping her foot.

* * *

Something wasn’t quite right, Shiho hypothesized in her head.

The team was lacking what they had before, and the gym was quiet (at least the home bleachers were). 

In that first point gained by their opponents, Inaba’s new setter was clouded in vision - and, by extension, in mind. Anxiety conquered her slacking form.

Would she really be able to set herself up to a good start? Perhaps, all this time, her work in physical therapy and the subsequent volleyball practice in her new town would amount to nothing. 

Above all, especially given the circumstances, she’d disappoint Ann. Shiho replayed in her head, _multiple_ times, the nightmare of Ann shaking her head with a sigh, picking up her things and walking out; her new, _better_ friends would follow suit.

_Ann, I’m so_ \- 

“HEY, SHIHO!” 

Ann’s sudden cry jerked the setter’s head to the home bleachers. 

Ann was, unlike her four worn companions, standing, pom-poms clasped together...and she looked _pissed_.

Unless she was just being fierce for the sake of scaring Shiho?

Nah, Shiho defeatedly thought. That couldn’t be.

All eyes - even those of both teams - were on Ann, as she began to march, a rather cute clumsiness in her step. 

_Let’s get fired up!_

_Get rough, get tough, get mean!_

The other four girls - Makoto Niijima, Futaba Sakura, Haru Okumura, and Sumire Yoshizawa - slowly pulled their forms off the bleachers. 

But Ann’s choreography persevered. 

_Let get fired up_

_Spike out that team!_

It took an awkward pause, a hush of silence to fall over the entire gymnasium. 

But _all_ the girls persevered.

_Hey, hey!_

_Hey, hey, are you ready?!_

Two claps, the most synchronized the quintet had ever been.

_Are you ready?!_

Another pair of claps. A slight bit off, but the subsequent ringing was just as powerful.

_To play?!_

Clap.

_Say “Go Shiho!”_

Clap.

_Go Shiho!_

Clap.

_Inaba all the way!_

The hoops and hollers were resurrected, that was for certain. 

But it was also to Shiho’s absolute surprise. 

The volleyball setter smiled warmly, a single tear in her eye. 

But she wouldn’t cry anymore.

* * *

Inaba won. The first two sets were theirs off the bat. Iwatodai won the third by a hair. Yet, another dip and rise like in the second set allowed for Inaba to take the game once and for all.

As soon as Shiho jumped and spiked the game’s last spike, the girls were running up to her. 

The redhead - Sumire Yoshizawa - gave Shiho a great bearhug. 

Futaba Sakura - who _indeed_ possessed violet eyes behind her glasses - had a jump more eased than excited. 

Makoto Niijima nudged Shiho in the shoulder. 

Haru Okumura followed Sumire in giving Shiho a welcoming embrace.

And Ann...the strong, beautiful Ann Takamaki, was right beside it all. She looked on them all, tears streaming down her face. Even so, her eyes twinkled brighter and bluer than ever. 

As soon as the other four gave Shiho a small bit of space, Shiho dashed up to the blonde.

“Wait, wait!” she frantically cried out. “Ann, _what is with you_?!”

Ann’s eyes crinkled shut, and her dainty hand rose up to wipe away the last few tears in her eyes.

“You _won_ , Shiho!” she said, just a slight hair above a whisper. “And after everything? You’re still amazing!”

Shiho beamed brighter than ever, wrapping her arms around Ann’s waist.

“Thank you,” she murmured. “You’ve always been my light.”

Wordless, Ann pulled Shiho closer. Tearfully, both their eyelids shut. They both knew right away.

Their lips locked in a soft kiss.

The other four’s smiles twinkled in awe and understanding, but that didn’t matter as much as the moment.

Not as much as Shiho.

The world around them was muted for that brief moment. 

When they both pulled back, it was only by at most an inch. 

Shiho gazed into Ann’s visage. 

“All that being said and done…” Shiho stammered, “where did all this begin?”

Ann suddenly jumped back, and her face took less than a second to emit a rosy pink.

“I-i-i-it’s,” she stammered, “kind of a long story…”

**Author's Note:**

> Here's something I'm curious to know: how did YOU think Ann & Co.'s cheer leading surprise came to be?
> 
> As always, feedback is appreciated! Even if there isn't much you'd like to say, I always welcome whatever those few words might just be!


End file.
